Point your phone camera to translate

Google recently released a major update to its Translate app with a super-nifty function that lets you translate signs by simply pointing your phone camera at them.

The feature works when translating basic text between English and Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian and German. So if you’re travelling and need to know exactly what that street sign says, this should be a great feature for you.

Sometimes the camera has trouble finding words — particularly if you aren’t holding it steady — but it’s not bad for a free app.

The company also added a feature that translates conversation more quickly.

Users can pick two languages to translate between, and the app will automatically decipher which language is being spoken at the time. The spoken translation feature requires a data connection; the text translation does not. Free, for Android and iOS devices.(WP-BLOOM)